Messy house =Messy minds?

Well, I'm hoping they'll later disprove this one. A study-a very small one though-that shows a connection between kids with an orderly house and routines doing better with reading than similar kids in a messy house.

Will the prez change rap music?

http://www.slate.com/id/2211626/

I'm not really a rap music fan or anything, I just thought it was interesting how many different areas could potentially be affected by our new president.

For my mother-in-law

A crossing guard story with a happy ending:

Crossing Guard's Funny Hats Land Him in Hot Water
by Susan Wagner Feb 27th 2009 10:00AM
Categories: In the news
Crossing guard Larry Douthwaite has been keeping kids in Littlestown, PA, safe for 15 years. And for most of that time, he's been wearing one of his collection of crazy hats to work each day. The hats -- a flowerpot, an ear of corn and the like -- were a huge hit with the kids, who call him "Hat Man.""It was for kids first," Douthwaite said. "And then I noticed it was a great thing to help me be safe because people would see me more readily." Of course. How can you miss a grown man with a flower pot on his head? And how could you not love a guy who wears a model airplane on his head?Unfortunately, his hats were not such a big hit with one misanthropic member of the local town council, who said Douthwaite's hats were unprofessional and a driving distraction, and ordered a cease and desist. Douthwaite complied, although he admitted to feeling "disappointed. But I have to listen to what I was told," he said.Enter the cavalry -- his fellow Littletowners. This week 20 of them showed up for a council meeting, many wearing funny hats of their own. "I think they are tired of having fun things sucked out of their life," Douthwaite said. (Show of hands?)Dad Donald Bateman, who came to the borough council meeting wearing a tall Uncle Sam hat, said "sometimes when my daughter feels bad she'll go to school just to see what [Douthwaite's] wearing." Who can argue with that? I would wear a funny hat, too, if it would get my kids out of the house more easily in the morning.Happy ending: The borough council voted unanimously to allow Douthwaite to wear his hats. He returned to work on Wednesday in his pharaoh hat. Of course.
Source

Delayed present

Claire found this set of construction utensils that she had bought for one of the boys for either a birthday or Christmas (she doesn't remember) and gave them to me last night. Since she didn't remember, I told the boys they were for them to share. I did not anticipate Leanna's reaction-she got very upset that she didn't get a present too. I explained that this was not something extra, but a previous present. It didn't help. Justin and Timothy were thrilled. Timothy promptly asked for cereal to use the spoon. They each slept holding their silverware. They are really adorable. And I checked out their website, they do make a pink version for girls.

Grease

A week or two ago Grease was on tv and the kids were just fascinated. Maybe when we can rent movies again I should try some musicals. I told Leanna that this is the original High School Musical but she wasn't quite understanding (Actually I wouldn't have let her watch high school musical, but Maree' watched it with her one morning while we were still sleeping. The damage was done. It's hugely popular in the elementary school too.)

It's funny, watching Grease now as a parent, I realized there's a lot of content in it that isn't so kid friendly. They were really enjoying the singing and dancing though, (and really, so was I), so I tried to compensate. When the nerd passes by the cool boys and they push him and whatever else they did, I took care to point out how that was really not very nice. I just tried to watch out for moments like that to use to teach a lesson or at least so they wouldn't just absorb that stuff thinking it was normal or ok. They were playing, so they weren't actually watching the whole thing. Plus I use distraction for other parts. Justin and Leanna really like to sing a lot, it really amuses me to hear Justin singing along with Summer Nights. He's just really cute. We added some Grease songs to our playlist.

Managing Minutes

I found this interesting. I know I need around 9 hours of sleep/night to feel normal. People gasp or looked shocked if I tell them that. But 8 hours/night is only an average, so some people need less, some need more. It's not shocking at all but people have this attitude like needing sleep is a sin! It really should be more of a priority, for everyone!

Did you know ...
In 1850, Americans averaged 9.5 hours of sleep a night.
In 2008, Americans averaged 6.5 hours of sleep a night.
On average, Americans watch TV for 3.25 hours a day, close to the difference in sleep between 1850 and today.
Sixty-eight percent of Americans say they want more free time.
On average, Americans spend 10 hours a day affixed to technology--TV, Internet, radio, iPod, and cellphone.
The average middle-manager gets interrupted 202 times a day. (Moms probably couldn't stay on the phone long enough to complete the interruption survey!)

More Recent Stuff

*Two days in a row of really good mornings with Leanna! She's not really a morning person either, so that is an accomplishment for us.

*Leanna and I have been reading the The Chronicles of Narnia at night lately, and we're both quite enjoying it.

*Jacob weighs about 23 pounds now. We went to a doctor's appt. yesterday. I don't know the height or exact weight though because we had an insurance mix up and the kids are temporarily without until I get reapplied and all squared away. So we got to visit Central Elementary School for a free checkup. They did everything quickly and weren't writing it down. Interestingly, they said Jacob only needed two shots. Versus the regular clinic wanting to do a million at a time, saying he was so far behind schedule. They were polite and very nice and it was waaaay quicker than the regular clinic. The downside is that they can't do anything about Jacob's eczema. She recommended I try Claratin. And the lead Nazis got to them! I said that he needed a lead test but I didn't know it they could do it, and she said, funny you should mention that! They called prior to our visit and arranged for a paper giving Jacob a free lead test, we just had to march over to Sacred Heart to get it. (Which we did, immediately following the checkup). so hopefully the levels will have gone down again and the lead Nazis will leave me alone!



*Jacob's new food-love is bread. He will bring me a loaf of bread and wait for me to open it and give him a slice.



*Justin and Timothy have formed their own band and are doing their best today to give me and/or the neighborhood a headache! They laid out a bunch of pots and pans and grabbed wooden spoons for Timothy and maraccas for Justin as drum sticks.



* Justin found one of Tom's miniature wrenches and is currently planning to build a toybox with his father's help. His father does not know of this plan yet.

License to Lie

Just Cuz

Making up for last night?

Jacob's been giving kisses galore to me today (and Justin too). Wet, cereal-covered kisses, but heart-melting nonetheless.

terms that amuse me

From the urban dictionary:

laundry limbo
February 22
2705 up, 693 down
Intentionally rewashing clothing simply because you don't feel like putting it away
I had a shirt I knew was clean, but I was too lazy to hang it up so I just kept it in laundry limbo.


lol theory
February 15
9284 up, 1012 down
The theory that the internet phrase lol,meaning "laugh out loud", can be placed at any part in any sentence and make said sentence lose all credibilty and seriousness.
ex 1 Doc: We need to operate on your colon lol, you have cancer.
ex 2 Jesus: Take this all of you and eat it, it is my body, lol.
ex 3 Me: Will you marry me? Lol. ^
Lol theory in action
by bobmcd123 share this more

Thanks Laura!

I keep forgetting to post this. Isn't it funny how sometimes you look at something one way and someone else shows you a completely new perspective, one you would never have thought of before. I had a situation that was really irking me, I felt as though it served no purpose in my life other than to deeply irritate me. My sister mentioned that she thought it was great that I had this thing in my life to amuse me. I had never thought of it that way. And when I adjusted my thinking, it really could be amusing. I'm actually having an easier time dealing with it from this new perspective! Siblings really can be useful in ways you'd never think of!

Hula dance learned from Tropical Sleepover

The second time through she forgot she was going to sing to add music. (that's why she yells cut!)

Pretty cool

All 13 boys in this troop, who've been together since elementary school, achieve Eagle Scout rank, the highest you can get. Pretty impressive.

A thought

A passing thought I just had:
You know the woman they're calling Octomom, the one who just had the octuplets and then it turned out she already had six children and the father's not involved and she lives with her parents and wasn't working because of physical problems....if you're not aware, she's been criticised right and left for pretty much every choice she made. Having kids without a spouse/partner, using fertility treatments, using fertility treatments repeatedly, continuing to have children without the means to support them, not "reducing" any of the babies when they found out she was pregnant with seven (the 8th was a surprise during delivery), burdening taxpayers with the children's birth, etc. etc. Most people think she is mentally disturbed, and that she is having children to fulfill her own disturbed needs.
Let's say she does have mental problems. (I don't know her, nor do the vast majority of the people and reporters commenting on this, so I don't know the real story.) People are angry and disgusted with her for having a mental problem, a disorder of some sort. Whatever happened to compassion? Didn't we used to feel sorry for people who need metal help? Most people's first reaction seems to be anger and criticism, and I think that's sad. Regardless of how it happened, she's in a very difficult situation. Taking care of eight babies at once could drive a perfectly sane person insane, even without six other kids (including a set of twins and a special needs child!). It just saddens me that the primary focus isn't on helping her poor children to survive and thrive, or even on getting the mother mental help if they truly believe that she needs it. If this sad situation was caused by this woman having a mental disorder that led to her poor choices, than we should feel pity for her, not disgust. Everyone seems to be thinking of themselves first and how they might be affected by her or women making similar choices-although this is a rare and unusual situation.

(I'll state right now that I haven't seen any of the videos of this woman interviewed. I've just read some of what she's said, and mainly editorials from various sources debating how bad this situation is. I just hate that people might take her highly unusual situation and use it to try to make choices about other people's fertility. I also find it disturbing that so many people think you can't possibly have enough love for more than a few kids! I can't imagine having children and not loving them! I think compassion for her children should be the primary focus. Just my opinions. )

Smart Woman

I'll have to remember comment this for the future:

"Whenever I see a discussion like this I am reminded of my mother’s comments to me when I was about to be married. In essance she said, “How many children you have and when you have them is entirely up to you and your husband, with the guidance of the Lord, and it will not now, nor ever, be a topic of discussion between you and me.” She was good to her word, and it made for a great mother/adult daughter relationship."

Will my 2 year old go to Harvard if they can't ride a pony?!

I ran across a post on Does Your Child Really Need Extracurricular Activities? Those sorts of posts always amuse me. Especially people who list exact schedules of when and how ALL parents should run their children's lives. I'm also amazed at how many people are saddling their kids age 2 and up with all kinds of enrichment classes. And from the comments, they seem to feel that it's not just desirable, but necessary for their children. Wow. I'm old-school I guess. I think that it's important, not just desirable, but necessary for children to play and use their imaginations and have adventures. A class or two here and there is fine, there are many great things to be learned, and experiences to be had. So long as they're not at the expense of actually living life. All learning does not take place in a class or classroom setting!

I like this response on the blog:

"My kids need time to be at home, playing with their toys, building things in the basement, getting filthy in the yard, riding their bikes. They both do cub scouts, and swimming. But most days, we are a much happier and less stressed out family if we keep the activities to a minimum.
I really dislike the 'you have to get them started at age 1 or they will never excel and never get into Harvard' argument. Seriously, Harvard is not that big. Even if every suburban mom in creation puts their kids in activities for 4 hours a day from the time they are born, they are not all going to get into Harvard. And truly, a Harvard (or MIT, or name your school) diploma and $2 will get you a bus ride, but it is not a guarantee of success or happiness.
If your kids get crazy if they are not scheduled - then schedule them. But don't overschedule them in order to chase some dream of yours. Posted by BMS February 19, 09 12:37 PM "

Random things

A few things while I remember:

*Leanna's teacher wrote again in her Friday folder that she is really improving in math! Yay!

*At the bank, when the teller asked if the kids wanted a lollipop (duh!) from down in the stroller Jacob quickly replied, "Ohhkaaay!" in a happy voice. LOL.

*Last night, out of nowhere, Timothy asked me if I could get him a Panda Bear. As a pet.

*Today Justin asked me "what's God?" And when I said that he created everything, Justin asked, "why?" Uhhhhh.......

*I contacted a local homeschool support group with questions and am awaiting a reply. So far I got a reply saying a reply will be coming.

*I've noticed lately that Jacob really likes sitting inbetween his two big brothers. He idolizes Justin, but also really really loves Timothy. They sometimes play cars together. It's really adorable to watch.

Her first group sleepover party

Leanna's at a Tropical Fun sleepover at the Reading Museum tonight with Girl Scouts. I'm wondering how she's doing and if she's bonding with the girls. As I was telling my sister tonight, Leanna says all the girls at Girl Scouts are her friends, but she doesn't have any close friends. I think this is mostly because she started late this year (they forgot to call the girls from Leanna's old troop to tell them that their troop was disbanded and that they could join this one now). And she's missed a few meetings when Tom couldn't get home in time. Plus since the troop was already established, most of the girls were already friends from last year. So I'm hoping something like this will help bring her closer, feel more like a part of the group.

Leanna was looking forward to this, aside from a personal issue that was worrying her. She's not afraid of sleeping over though. They get to do all kinds of fun stuff-a pizza party, make aquariums, hula skirts, paper flowers, a book on fish and learn a dance from Hawaii. I'm missing her a little tonight. But at the same time, I'm looking forward to hearing all about it tomorrow and seeing how excited she'll be. Sometimes it amazes me this this is the same baby I gave birth to nearing eight years ago. It really went by so quickly!

Also related to dishwashing.....

While making chocolate chip cookies tonight, I heard a clanging noise. I look over and there's Jacob, emptying all my clean silverware out of the drawer, and into the dirty sink. I thought we'd been going through silverware awful fast lately!

Did I mention his latest hobby? He likes to run over to the computer and turn it off!

Again, no one's taught him any of this. These aren't things the older kids are doing. Just a natural instinct for trouble, I guess.